Just as they did last year, South Africa’s National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) will once again take a delegation of films and filmmakers to the Cannes International Film Festival, which takes place later this month – from the 15th until the 26th of May.

The goal here is to demonstrate that South African cinema can compete on the international stage, and show that stories by South African filmmakers can resonate in the international cinema market place.

One of the films that will be presented this year is the buddy cop comedy set in Johannesburg, written by comedian Kagiso Lediga, titled Blitz Patrollie.

The film chronicles the adventures of Rummy Augustine (Joey Rasdien) and his partner, Ace Dikolobe (David Kau), two police officers who have had the misfortune of being stationed in an anonymous depot in the Johannesburg CBD. Rummy is bogged down with trying to start a family, while the overzealous Ace can think of nothing better to do in the morning than head out and kick some criminal ass.

Directed by Andrew Wessels, Blitz Patrollie promises to be a film that will “visually break new ground in South African cinema” (that’s what the press release says, although it doesn’t say how exactly), filled with stunts, shoot-outs, car chases and much more, offering itself as a portrait of Johannesburg and its many contradictions.

One of the film’s producers, Isaac Mogajane, had this to say: “Every step of the film has been crafted with the audience in mind, and beyond anything else, we are hoping to give South Africans a serious bang for their buck!“

Blitz Patrollie will be distributed by the National Film and Video Foundation and is scheduled for release in South African cinemas this weekend, on May 10th.

It’ll screen at the Cannes Market for an international audience on May 20.

The South African delegate will be situated at Village International Riviera while at Cannes, and will offer all South Africans a business environment equipped with meeting rooms, screening facilities and computers.